Brindisi Sud power station
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Brindisi Sud power station is a power station in Brindisi, Puglia, Italy with multiple units of varying statuses, none of which are currently operating. It is also known as Federico II, Federico 5 (Unit 4), Federico 4 (Unit 3), Federico 2 (Unit 1), Federico 3 (Unit 2).
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Brindisi Sud power station | Brindisi, Brindisi, Puglia, Italy | 40.563636, 18.032206 (exact)[1] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- CC1, CC2, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 40.563636, 18.032206
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year | Equipment | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC1 | Shelved[2][3][4][5][6] | fossil gas: natural gas[7][8] | 840[7] | combined cycle[7] | not found | – | – | not found | no |
| CC2 | Shelved[3][4][6][5] | fossil gas: natural gas[7][8] | 840[7] | combined cycle[7] | not found | – | – | not found | no |
| Unit 1 | Mothballed[9] | coal: bituminous[10] | 660 | supercritical | – | 1991 | – | – | no |
| Unit 2 | Retired | coal: bituminous[10] | 660 | supercritical | – | 1992 | 2020 | – | no |
| Unit 3 | Mothballed[9] | coal: bituminous[10] | 660 | supercritical | – | 1992 | – | – | no |
| Unit 4 | Mothballed[9] | coal: bituminous[10] | 660 | supercritical | – | 1993 | – | – | no |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| CC1 | Enel SpA [100%][11][8] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| CC2 | Enel SpA [100%][11][8] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 1 | Enel SpA [100%][11][8] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Enel SpA [100%][11][8] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Enel SpA [100%][11][8] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Enel SpA [100%][11][8] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): imported
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
Brindisi Sud power station is a four-unit coal-fired power plant with a total capacity of 2,640 MW. The plant was completed between 1991 and 1993, and is owned by Enel.[12]
In October 2017, Italy announced it planned to phase out coal power by 2025,[13] requiring Enel to retire the Brindisi Sud coal plant by 2025. In May 2020, Italian regulators granted Enel permission to close the 605 MW unit 2 from 1 January 2021, the first step towards shutting down the whole facility by 2025.[14]
In June 2023, Italy's Environment and Energy Security Minister reportedly stated that the country's coal plants could close by 2024, a year earlier than previously planned, if gas prices remained low.[15]
In September 2025, Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security reportedly said that the country was “not ready” to close Brindisi Sud and Torrevaldaliga Nord power station by the end of 2025, as previously planned. The minister cited the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East as the reasons to delay the closure of Italy’s coal plants.[16]
In December 2025, Italian media reported that the government was considering keeping Enel’s coal-fired power stations Torrevaldaliga Nord power station (Civitavecchia) and Federico II (Brindisi) in reserve beyond the expiry of their environmental authorizations on 31 December 2025, citing energy security concerns and the possibility that the plants could be reactivated.[17]
In March 2026, the lower house of Italy’s parliament passed a bill that would delay the permanent retirement of the country’s remaining coal power plants until 2038, thirteen years later than previously scheduled. The delay was reportedly driven by energy supply challenges stemming from conflict in the Middle East.[18]
Proposed gas-fired capacity
In May 2018, Enel announced that it aims in 2025 to install two gas blocks for a total of 1680 MW in the same area of the plant.[19] In May 2020, Enel started the permitting process to convert the site to gas, which will happen in three phases. The first phase will be the installation of an open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) unit and the phase-out of coal. The second phase will be the installation of a second OCGT, and the third phase will be to convert the OCGTs to combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs).[14]
In July 2021, Enel announced that the Italian government has requested halving the size of this proposal, from 1680 to 840 MW.[20]
In February 2022, Terna, the electricity transmission system operator, determined that the prospective Enel turbo gas power plant in Brindisi was not needed for grid stabilization purposes, which was the justification put forward by Enel. As a result, Enel was forced to cancel the project.[21] Instead, Enel has stated that it will develop renewable energy throughout Italy.[22]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Way: Centrale termoelettrica "Federico II" (61814451)". OpenStreetMap. 2022-07-26. Archived from the original on 2022-08-23. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ↑ "Riconversione a gas centrale Enel: "Riparta subito il confronto con le istituzioni"". BrindisiReport. Archived from the original on 2024-04-21. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221101105423/https://www.ecodallecitta.it/brindisi-centrale-gas//. Archived from the original on 2022-11-01.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230605124318/https://www.wwf.it/area-stampa/centrale-termoelettrica-federico-ii-di-brindisi/. Archived from the original on 2023-06-05.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Enel Investor Q&A" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-07-11. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20250805072055/https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/documents/d/guest/rapporto_situazione_autorizzazioni_aprile2023-aprile2024-pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-08-05.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20221205013631/https://www.changeclimatechange.it/azioni/nemici/centrale-a-carbone-di-brindisi-sud/. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 https://web.archive.org/web/20220516223528/https://www.brindisireport.it/economia/m5s-e-legambiente-a2a-prima-bonifichi-poi-la-valutazione-del-progetto.html. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Civitavecchia e Brindisi, Governo riattiverà le centrali a carbone?". 2025-12-30. Archived from the original on 2026-01-28. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 https://www.gem.wiki/Coal_source_methodology_for_the_Global_Coal_Plant_Tracker.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 https://va.mite.gov.it/it-IT/Oggetti/Info/1922.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Coal-Fired Power Plants in Italy," Industcards, accessed April 2016
- ↑ "Italy to phase out coal by 2025," E3G, Oct 24, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Italy's Enel to close one Brindisi coal unit in 2021," Argus Media, May 28, 2017
- ↑ "Italy could abandon coal by 2024, environment minister says," Reuters, June 5, 2023
- ↑ “Gas storage levels in Italy and Europe are good, Italian minister says,” Reuters, September 6, 2025
- ↑ Erminia Voccia (30 December 2025). "Governo valuta il mantenimento in riserva delle centrali a carbone di Civitavecchia e Brindisi". rinnovabili.it. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ “Italy to postpone shutdown of coal-powered plants by 13 years,” Reuters, March 31, 2026
- ↑ Antonio Tricarico, "Un Brindisi lontano dalla fine del carbone," Il Manifesto, Sep 26, 2019
- ↑ "INCONTRO ENEL SU TRANSIZIONE SITI A CARBONE". CISL Reti. June 13, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Terna nega gli investimenti per la conversione della centrale a turbo gas di Brindisi 2". Eco dalle Citta. February 24, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Centrale elettrica di Brindisi: Enel non la riconvertirà a gas". Corriere Del Mezzogiorno. February 23, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
